How to remove this hose bib?

[kovacs]

I've got a leaking hose bib that I want to replace with a 1/4 turn ball valve.

Pics from left side, right side and from side/underneath.

The end of the pipe coming out of the house exterior wall has an enlarged end that I initially thought might have wrench flats, but I can't feel any definitive wrench flats on it.

Should I be putting wrenches on these two parts (red arrows) - and hold the wrench close to the wall still while loosening with the other wrench?

Anything else I'd need to do to replace this with a 1/4 turn ball valve?

 

[Twowaxhack]

Looks like it may unscrew where and like your arrows show. It could be soldered in, even if it has threads. I’ve done it just to do it.

Don’t twist your copper.

 

[JG plumbing]

Your going to need a grip tool (such and channel locks) to grip the brass fitting. Then use a wrench on the valve where your arrow on the left is. Try to unscrew the valve the brass adapter.

I'm saying brass becuse it looks to be brass to the left of your left arrow. If you get to turning on it and it becomes too hard (which it probably will) you'll want to give that up and start figuring a plan to shut the water to this fixture off and solder it.

May be a job for a plumber of your not confident in your soldering.

 

[Jeff Handy]

Looks like either the hose bibb is soldered directly to a copper supply pipe, or there is a brass male adapter soldered on, then the hose bibb was screwed onto it a loooong time ago.

If you have access to the copper pipe inside the house, then cut it off and add a fresh piece of pipe, which you can attach with a Sharkbite type of push connect fitting.

Then attach a 1/4 turn ball valve outside, with either a push fitting or a compression fitting.

You could also use a brass compression coupling or a brass compression shutoff valve to join the new section of pipe inside the house.

If you start wrenching on the pipe outside, you will likely twist the copper pipe into a spiral and it will fail somewhere inside the house.

 

[Jeff Handy]

If the pipe has some give, and you can pull it outside another 1/4 to 1/2 inch, you could get a large channel locks or vice grips on this section, then try to unscrew the whole bibb off from that.

It might be too corroded to move, or you might crush the threaded part you are squeezing.

 

[kovacs]

Just to close the loop on this, we put wrenches on the 2 red arrows and removed the hose bib. Then we used a torch to remove the 1/2" sweat to 3/4" FNPT adapter (so that was the bulge at the end of the copper pipe) and the red arrow on the left. So whoever set this up sweated on this adapter so they could install a thread-on hose bib.

With the bare 1/2" copper pipe, we sweated on a 1/2" sweat 1/4 turn hose bib. All's well that ends well without leaks.

 

[Jeff Handy]

Hurray!

 

[havasu]

Thanks for the response, but now, when you need to replace the spigot, it will need to be unsoldered, then soldered back on again? Why wouldn't you just purchase a threaded 1/4 turn hose bib?

 

[kovacs]

Thanks for the response, but now, when you need to replace the spigot, it will need to be unsoldered, then soldered back on again?

Correct. But I figure it will be several years before this new ball valve hose bib goes bad.

Why wouldn't you just purchase a threaded 1/4 turn hose bib?

Because I'd have nothing to thread it on to.

What extends out of the house is a 1/2" copper pipe. We removed the old threaded hose bib and the sweat-to-thread adapter.

I suppose I could have installed a new adapter and then a threaded hose bib, but I bet a threaded attachment will leak before a soldered one.